Captain America #36 [Spoilers]

Just so you know, this comic could just as easily have been called "Wow, the Black Widow is Totally Awesome!" :)

Anyway, this book is still the best thing I get, month after month. It's the first thing I read. (In fairness I must confess that the second thing is Countdown, so this has less to do with guaranteed quality than with a certain "can't wait to see what the hell happened!" thing. But still.) It's the first thing the husband reads. The kids...well, you know about the kids. Eight-year-old reads it, thirteen-year-old doesn't.

So. Great fight scene. Great new-Cap-getting-in-over-his-head scene. Great Black-Widow-to-the-rescue scene. Great this-is-not-your-father-s-Captain-America scene. Great Bucky-tries-to-inspire-the-masses scene (where the shield proves useful when the masses start throwing things!). The Red Skull laughs villainously, Tony Stark continues to dig himself into a deeper hole with the government, and Sharon Carter finally manages to break away from Faustus (we hope). It's the threat to her baby that does it, which I find realistic--she hasn't really had a lot of interest in preserving her own life since she shot Steve, but the baby? That's different.

I will say that, from reading the internet, there was one thing I thought I might not care for--the kiss between Black Widow and Bucky/Cap when she left. I couldn't imagine a way it could have been done that wouldn't have had me rolling my eyes a bit. Well, it turned out to be a pretty cool moment. They're talking. She tells him that she won't be seeing much of him now that the "new Captain America" has gone public (and, presumably, now that she's more confident of his ability to pull it off--and, possibly, now that she's observed him long enough that Stark can trust him with the shield?). He's clearly very disappointed. She thinks for a moment, realizing what her absence is going to do to his morale. She says "Do you remember it all? Our time together, when I was young?" They talk a bit about it and about why Bucky/Cap is taking on this challenge, and she kisses him good-bye ("Until we fight together again...A l ittle something to let you know I haven't forgotten, either.") and leaves. It works--he seems considerably more cheerful.

So, why that was good instead of lame? (Which such a scene could so, so easily have been?) The Widow maintains her...well, Black Widow-ness, for lack of an existing term. She really does need to leave the book because, while Cap/Bucky may be a better fighter than she is, she is clearly far more competent in other ways. (Well, she's a lot older, has had a lot more experience, it makes sense that she would be.) If she's around, she'll continue to run to his rescue, which won't do much for developing him as a new Cap (or even a better hero). But, mainly, it's not a romantic scene. It's a reasoned response on Natasha's part, and works regardless of her actual feelings for him. I have no idea whether she has any interest in him beyond friendship at this point (hell, I have no idea whether she's got a relationship going in any other title these days), but it was at the very least a kind gesture, and made perfect sense for the character in that situation. I'm impressed.